...is a collaborative architecture and design studio dedicated to things, both material and intangible. Our work reflects a conviction that architecture lies at the intersection of many fields and disciplines.
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Installations
Dwelling
Commercial
Things!
Press + Awards
Love Times Square
Team: Can Vu Bui, Lane Rick, Vincent Calabro, JT Bachman, Katie Stranix
Baby love me lights out
You can turn my lights out
I love you like XO
You love me like XO
-Beyonce Gisselle Knowles, XO
X O X O is at once a message, a sculpture, and an experience. It brings the spectacle of Times Square to the ground, and establishes a space for lovers to embrace, for children to laugh and play, for strangers to take photos, and for everyone to engage with the vibrancy of one of New York’s most visited areas. The installation is both a celebration of its visitors’ affections and its special place in the city; it joins Times Square, in its playfulness, accessibility, and invitation for open-ended joy.
The four totems that comprise X O X O operate at multiple scales, from the urban to the human. From afar, Xs and Os dance overhead, a loving tribute to the many billboards around. Their mysterious allure gives way to a second reading from the raised view of the TKTS stairs: the lower letters emit a colorful neon-like glow. They cast light up the structure and echo the glowing billboards above. From up close, the totems cluster together, four bright and distinct forms that establish a welcoming space to wander and gather. Each totem is a literal meeting-in-the-middle between an X and an O, a hug and a kiss. Colorful rope connects the upper and lower frames into a single undulating form. Collectively, the ropes produce a shimmering moiré effect, an ephemeral quality that emerges only through movement and exploration.
Following the month-long installation, Office of Things is in discussion with play:groundNYC, a non-profit organization “dedicated to transforming the city through play”, to secure a second home for the totems, in hope that they can continue to bring joy to many New Yorkers.
Ultimately, X O X O is an homage to that ephemeral feeling, particular to New York City, that emerges when people can come together, bridge their differences, and share an unexpected experience. It is an artifact of city love that plays off the graphic scale of Times Square, not to contrast its spectacle, but to contribute to it.